A New Dawn
by Hannah Volturi
Summary: Bella, a young vampire, can't take Denali any longer, and finally takes the plunge to move away from the only family she's ever known to live with the Cullens in Forks. Canon pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – I praise Stephanie Meyer for giving us Twilight, because unfortunately I couldn't write something so amazing**

_Author's Note: I'm hopefully going to finish this fic, and once I remember where I was going with it, I will also work on Boundaries…I just have a little bit of writers block for that one. Anyways, I decided I would start a new fic. One that is finally not BellaxJacob, since I've been pretty in love with those for a while._

Chapter One

"You must be Bella!" The moment I stepped out of my car I hoped I wasn't going to regret the move, I had been alerted that the Cullens were extremely welcoming, but I had always been shy, and I wasn't sure if inviting arms were quite wanted at this stage. A short, pixie-like girl bounded towards me, her black hair was short--- frantic and wild in every direction and her hand was extended pleasantly and harmlessly, "I'm Alice."

I grasped her hand in one of mine and shook it warmly, "Its nice to meet you." Tanya had given me a slight rundown of each of the Cullens, their personalities, the powers of those that were lucky enough to have some, I replayed the information in my mind and remembered that Alice was a friendly shopaholic who could see the future.

"Come inside! Come inside!" She insisted with a warm smile. The house was beautiful, there was no denying that. I had been living around so much snow for as long as I could remember that it was nice to see so much green everywhere. Inside the house, the wonders continued. Everything was so open, it was nice. I spied a piano and secretly wished I knew how to play, or remembered if I knew how to play when I was human.

A group of vampires gathered in the main room each of them with a different expression on their face. Alice introduced each of them, "This is Carlisle," she said pointing to a beautiful blonde haired man who looked to be in his late twenties.

"Welcome to Forks, Bella," he said with a polite smile. Carlisle, Tanya had told me, was a doctor, and the first known 'vegetarian' vampire. He was very compassionate, though had no special talents.

Alice introduced the motherly looking woman at his side as Esme who smiled a motherly smile, "Our home is your home, Bella." All my fears of the Cullens being too welcoming were put aside, I felt very comfortable around them.

Her voice became sweet and saturated with love when she introduced the blonde haired, lean (but muscular) male as, "Jasper," I remembered that Jasper could sense as well as influence emotions, and that he and Alice were together.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Bella," he said sincerely.

She next introduced the large male and the devastatingly beautiful blonde as Emmett and Rosalie who I would have known were together even if Irina hadn't told me before hand. Emmett gave me a wink as well as a booming laugh and Rosalie looked slightly irritated.

I turned my attention to the bronze haired boy next, "This is Edward," Alice said, and her voice seemed to have something hidden behind it. Edward's eyes seemed to be probing mine searching for something, and I knew what without even asking. Edward was a mind reader. And eternally single, as Tanya had added.

I gave him a small smile, "Its no use, I'm a shield. You're not going to be able to get through unless I let you." I said it as politely as possible, though it still sounded somewhat smug. He returned my smile with a crooked one and I was sure if I still had a heart, it would have skipped a beat.

**xxx**

As I settled in the a spare bedroom they had in the house I heard someone approach my room and then pause at the door, knocking lightly, though it wasn't necessary.

"Come in," I said quietly, knowing whoever it was would be able to hear me.

Edward walked in with his hands in his pockets, his expression seemed miles away but his face was still gorgeous. I had heard Tanya talk about him so much that I felt as if I already knew him. I concentrated on keeping my breathing steady as he looked at me and smiled the same crooked smile as earlier, "How are you settling in?" He asked, sitting down on the futon in the bedroom.

"Pretty good, I'm happy to be here," _I think_, I added in my mind, grateful he couldn't hear it.

I sat down next to him and smiled, "What's up?"

"I came down here to apologize," he said, looking guilty.

I was confused, "Apologize? For what? You and your family have been nothing but kind so far."

"For the way I acted earlier. I've never met a shield before, it was rude of me to try to intrude, you just fascinate me, that's all."

I couldn't help it. My breath caught, and he smirked at the sound of it. _I_ fascinate _him_? I bit my lip, "Oh."

He chuckled a little, most likely at my lack of vocabulary, "I'll see you around Bella."

In my mind, I cursed Tanya for making Edward sound so interesting, so charming and intelligent and creative and all around amazing. I'm sure if she hadn't I wouldn't have been so caught up in _fascinating_ Edward Cullen. These were shallow waters.

_A parting author's note: Its short, I know! But I want to see the reaction first. Oh! And I'm looking for cameos in this story. Other vampires, students at Forks High, Werewolves, random characters of the sort. If you're interested, definitely let me know!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer – I praise Stephanie Meyer for giving us Twilight, because unfortunately I couldn't write something so amazing**

_Author's Note: Hooray (: I got a few good responses, most of them begging to continue, so, of course I'm going to! I'm still searching for cameos, let me know! (Oh, and someone asked me what I meant by cameos, by cameos I kind of mean like guest starring). This one is pretty short again, I'm sorry!_

_In my mind, I cursed Tanya for making Edward sound so interesting, so charming and intelligent and creative and all around amazing. I'm sure if she hadn't I wouldn't have been so caught up in _fascinating_ Edward Cullen. These were shallow waters._

**xxx**

Chapter Two

It was my first day at Forks High School, and I was nervous. The night before, Alice and I bonded while trying to come up with an interesting story to explain my joining of the Cullen family that would be exciting, but not so dramatic that people wouldn't believe it. In the end it was decided that I would be Rosalie and Jasper's cousin, Bella Swan, and that my parents had joined the Peace Corps and sent me to spend time with my favorite cousins for my senior year of high school. "You're going to have lots of admirers," Alice had warned.

And she was right. As I made my way around the school I heard the whispers. _"She _must_ be related to the Cullens. Same eyes and everything…I wonder if she's a little friendlier." _ People commented on my beauty, some in jealous tones, and some in admiring ones.

As I entered English I had my first encounter with Mike Newton. He introduced himself to me and stuck out his hand with a polite smile. I grimaced internally; I hated physical contact with humans, and avoided it as much as possible. I faked a sneeze, to avoid shaking his hand, but gave him a warm smile, "I'm Bella."

"It's real nice to meet you Bella. Where did you move from?" He took eager interest in me, and the expression in his big blue eyes was something I knew well. This could not be good.

"Um, I moved here from Denali. My parents joined the Peace Corps and I decided I wanted to live with my cousins Jasper and Rosalie, and their adopted family," This was my first test to see how the story went over and it seemed to be going well.

"The Peace Corps? That's way cool," I breathed a sigh of relief when class started and Mike had to go to his seat. I was afraid to start leading this human on, living with Tanya, Irina and Kate had made me well acquainted with the term '_succubus'_ and while I had grown accustomed to…loving a man, I had no intentions of doing so in my new home.

I thought a lot of Alaska during the droning class, though I didn't remember much of my human life, Romeo and Juliet _had_ been one of my favorites, so the foggy memory was still there and I didn't feel any need to pay the slightest bit of attention. It didn't startle me how soon the bell rang and I left the room as quickly as humanly possible, not giving Mike a chance to follow me. I was relieved that it was lunch and that I would be able to see the Cullens.

I bought a sandwich and lemonade, and took a seat next to Alice and across from Edward at the table.

Edward gave me a crooked smile as I sat down, "It seems you have a fan club," he muttered motioning to the table where Mike was sitting, along with Eric Yorkie and Tyler Crowley, a few of the other boys I had met today that had expressed an interest, "The Peace Corps thing is brilliant, it's almost adding to your mystery and appeal, though with your beautiful looks, you don't need much."

If I could have blushed, I surely would have. Edward had just called me beautiful. Something at the back of my mind was dying to know why he was so blunt with his interest in me, but it seemed too good to be potentially ruining it with questions.

"The girls don't seem to be half as welcoming. Aside from Angela Webber, of course," He continued. Angela was a sweet girl that was in a few classes with me and seemed genuine at heart, "Jessica Stanley is jealous of Mike's interest in you, as well as your close proximity to the Cullens. And Lauren Malloy has been trying desperately to start a rumor about you since she saw you from across the parking lot this morning."

This last fact I knew well, I had heard the comments Lauren had been making under her breath about me in History. She had been getting desperate and the last I had heard before I had tuned her annoying out was that she had heard that I left Alaska because after my abortion, my parents couldn't deal with my rebellious habits anymore, and sent me to live with my aunt and cousins.

"Yeah, well Lauren Malloy is a total bitch," I muttered, playing with the cap to my lemonade. The situation didn't really bother me, especially because no one even really believed her attempts at rumors, but Lauren didn't seem like a very nice person, and I hated people like that.

The Cullens all chuckled under their breaths, "You've got that right," Emmett laughed, reaching across the table to give me a high five.

As Edward and I walked to Biology together, he stared at me in complete amazement, "What?!" I finally asked, completely frustrated at this point, and a little self conscious.

He smirked, "I'm just trying to understand you, that's all, you're like a puzzle just waiting to be solved, and I'm trying to find the ways I will enjoy the challenge."

**xxx**

_Author's note: This chapter was super short, I know! But I promise that once I get in the swing of this story, they will get longer. But I feel guilty leaving you with only a thousand words, so I guess I have a little treat for you guys…_

Sneak Peek:

As Alice picked up her lunch tray to dispose of the uneaten salad her twinkling voice murmured "Bella, Edward, don't forget, they're doing blood typing in Biology today."

Edward gave a slight nod and grabbed my tray and his heading towards the trash cans.

The butterflies that I thought had been perpetually dormant began beating their wings against my ribcage and though I had vampire strength, nothing could stop me from feeling the tickle along my spine reminding me of what it felt like to get goose bumps.

I was about to spend the next hour alone with _Edward_.

_P.S. I just spoiled you; that was a pretty long preview. But I am very thankful to everyone that has reviewed / PMed me / added this story to their story alerts. It makes my tummy warm. (:_

_P.P.S. When you review, tell me a little about yourself if you have the time, I want to get to know my readers. You're going to learn all about me a little bit later (:._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer – I praise Stephanie Meyer for giving us Twilight, because unfortunately I couldn't write something so amazing**

_Author's note: When I was writing Chapter Two, I didn't have access to internet, so I wasn't able to double check on Lauren's last name; it is definitely Mallory, not Malloy. My bad. This story has been getting a lot of good responses already (: it's pretty gratifying. This is my most successful fic so far. Finally a longer chapter (: _

_Listen to the song Afterwards by Danielle Ate the Sandwich. It has nothing to do with this chapter, but it might have some influence since I currently have it on repeat (:_

**xxx**

_He smirked, "I'm just trying to understand you, that's all, you're like a puzzle just waiting to be solved, and I'm trying to find the ways I will enjoy the challenge."_

**xxx**

The days in Forks were passing by quickly as well as comfortably. I was enjoying living with the Cullens, much more than I enjoyed living with everyone back in Denali. Though, I had a sneaking feeling that everyone was in on some sort of secret that I didn't know about, but I was too shy to ask.

I quickly fell into a comfortable routine, I had at least one person in each class that I could talk to, it helped that I had no aversion to humans like my 'family' seemed to. I spent each lunch with the Cullens and my nights were spent differently depending on who I decided to spend time with. I avoided spending time alone with Edward, beginning to get worried about how talking to him felt as easy and natural as breathing.

As Alice picked up her lunch tray to dispose of the uneaten salad he twinkling voice murmured "Bella, Edward, don't forget they're doing blood typing in Biology today."

Edward gave a slight nod and grabbed my tray and his heading towards the trash cans.

The butterflies that I thought had been perpetually dormant began beating their wings against my ribcage and though I had vampire strength, nothing could stop me from feeling the tickle along my spine reminding me of what it felt like to get goose bumps.

I was about to spend the next hour alone with _Edward_.

"Do you want to head back to the house or just hang out in the parking lot or something?" I asked, I had been trying to avoid this kind of situation, but I didn't want to be rude and not spend time with him. Besides, I didn't have a problem with Edward Cullen. I had a problem with myself being alone around Edward Cullen_._

"No, I have somewhere I want to show you," he said quietly with that heartbreaking crooked smile of his. He took off to the woods at a human pace, in case anyone was watching, but once we hit the shelter of the green abyss, Edward took off running and I was right behind him.

Describing Forks is like dancing to no music. It's a town where nothing much ever happens, and nothing much ever will ¹ so I highly doubted that where Edward was leading me would be of much interest, but when we finally came to a meadow after running for several miles I realized I had _really_ underestimated Edward's choice in location.

The meadow was by far the most beautiful place I had ever seen, it was a symmetrical circle with tall untamable grass and wildflowers of every color imaginable growing endlessly in the contained break of the tall green trees that surrounded it.

"Impressed?" Edward asked, chuckling as he strode at a very slow pace to the middle of the meadow. As I joined him, still in awe, he continued talking, "I found this place when we first moved to Forks and immediately fell in love with it. I've wanted to take you here since I met you."

"Its beautiful," I whispered. He took a seat on the ground and patted the grass next to him, inviting me to join him, which I gladly did.

"Yes, very," He glanced around the meadow and the surrounding forest before turning his eyes back to me, "You've been here nearly a week and I've had hardly any alone time with you. Its hard for me to put those puzzle pieces together to figure you out if I don't get to have any deep one-on-one conversations with you. Tell me about yourself, Bella."

All my nervous feelings were quickly fading away, sitting next to Edward and talking to him was like coming home after being away for a long time, "Um, okay, what do you want to know?"

"Well, why don't we just go chronologically? Tell me about your human life."

I grimaced, "Well this will be over fast…I don't have any memories from my human life. I mean, I still have all the knowledge, which is convenient, I can answer all the questions I get asked at school and things of that sort, but when it comes to real _memories_, I don't have any. I don't remember my family, or where I lived, though it was most likely near Canada since that's where Kate found me. I don't remember anything about _myself_ I just wonder what sort of person I was before I was changed," I sighed, "I wish I had something to go off of…anything to go off of. I'd love to have some human memories like what its like t dream, or what my mom's smile looked like, or if I had ever been in love…" I trailed off.

"I understand that," He paused a moment, thinking, "You know, Alice doesn't have any human memories either," he added sympathetically.

"It's probably selfish to say, 'I'm glad I'm not the only one' but to be honest, I am."

It was quiet for a few minutes before he finally took a deep breath and changed the topic, "Okay, tell me about your transformation."

"I only know bits and pieces based on what Kate told me," I muttered. He looked at me expectantly and I continued, "Kate had been going home from hunting and was somewhere along the border between Minnesota and Canada when she found me. I was about a mile and a half from the road and sprawled across the ground. She had been able to smell the blood miles before she found me, and even though Kate is strong, I'm still lucky she had been well fed before she found me. I was barefoot and I guess it look I had run that whole mile and a half as fast as I could. I had tripped a lot I guess, and finally I tripped and split my skull open on a rock. Kate knew I wouldn't make it if she tried to take me all the way back to Alaska, it had looked like I was going to breathe my last breath at any moment. She carried me deeper into the woods so that no one would be able to hear my screams and that's when she started the transformation," I took a deep breath and looked up at the clouds, "I'm forever grateful to her and one day I will repay her for this second chance that she gave me."

Edward's expression was miles away for a few minutes before he finally snapped back to reality, "So why did you move to Forks?" He asked so quietly that even I almost didn't hear him.

I tried to avoid the subject, "Why are we only talking about me? I want to know about the mysterious Edward Cullen, I mean all the girls at school are asking me about you, what am I supposed to tell them if I barely know you?" I teased.

"What do you want to know?" He asked, distant.

"Just, tell me your story…"

"I was the first to join Carlisle to this life, in 1901 I was dying of the Spanish Influenza and I was brought to the hospital that Carlisle was working at. Carlisle had been fighting with the thought of turning someone else for years, being a vampire can get very lonely very fast if you aren't surrounded with the right people. When my mother, Elizabeth, told Carlisle to do everything in his power to change me, it made up his mind and he transformed me. He turned Esme next, then Rosalie who brought Emmett to him to be changed."

"And Alice and Jasper…?" I asked.

"Alice and Jasper joined us of their own accord. Ask one of them to tell you the story sometime. I'd be happy to but that's not my story to tell," He tapped his temple with a small smile, "I get more than I'm meant to."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

"Now, back to you, why did you leave Denali?" His gold eyes seemed to churn and they pierced right through me.

I took a deep breath, knowing he wasn't going to let this go, "I wish you weren't pushing this, its kind of embarrassing," this seemed to get him interested, and he leaned in closer. I picked up his particular scent, like morning dew on freshly cut grass mixed with a honey-sweet smell that I couldn't quite place, "Tanya liked to talk about you a lot…"

I felt him tense up next to me, and I paused, "Go on," he prompted, his voice strained.

"The way she described you, and the things I could tell she was leaving out, I have to admit, it got me interested. I found myself thinking about you constantly, without even meeting you. I knew that it wasn't going to be something I could ignore easily so when Irina and I got in a fight, I decided to take it as incentive to come here. Our fight was mediocre, but I knew that if I had told them I wanted to meet the famous Cullens, they would get suspicious," I looked him in the eyes and saw the awe in his expression, my voice dropped to a whisper, "I came here for _you_ Edward."

He gazed into my eyes for what seemed like forever. Inside I began to panic, I couldn't tell if his reaction was good or bad, I inhaled and exhaled a few times to calm my nerves before thinking of something to change the topic to, "Edward, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything," He breathed.

"I-I feel like there's something, some secret, that you're whole family is in on, something everyone is keeping from me…" I took another deep, calming breath before continuing, "I was wondering if you would share it with me?"

He finally broke eye contact glancing away towards the trees and his face before returning them to my questioning gaze, "Its just a vision Alice had a few days before you came here."

"What was the vision of?"

"This," he whispered, pulling me by my waist and neck into a passionate kiss.

**xxx**

_Footnotes:_

¹ _This quote comes from __What's Eating Gilbert Grape__, which I am watching for the first time in years in my American Literature class. I thought this line was perfect to describe Forks._

_Some important notes about this story:_

_Every chapter will be in Bella's point of view. If there is a chapter that anyone wants in a different character's POV, just let me know in a review or a PM at any point in the story. Just tell me which chapter and which character, if I do get some of these requests, I will create another story dedicated to just that sort of thing. I'd imagine whether it gets requested on not though, I will do this chapter in Edward's point of view at some point in time._

_I solemnly swear to never interrupt the story with a random author's note. I will use footnotes like I did in this chapter if it's needed._

_Of course this story will have some drama, there will NOT be and James, Laurent, or Victoria in this story unless I decide to throw them in there for a change up, if I do, they will not be bad guys, just because it wouldn't make sense to the plot. The pack will definitely show up in here, and since I don't really have a decided plot yet, I'm currently trying to come up with a reason for the Volturi to come in, just so I can throw myself in this story._

_As I just said, I have not decided a plot for this yet…which could be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing_

_Why I want cameos: I got to be a cameo in one of a fic once, and it made me really happy especially because it was pretty popular by the time I got added into it. I like when author's put some of their readers in the story. Plus it gives me a challenge to base a character off a real person but being able to manipulate the character enough without feeling like I would be changing one of Stephanie's lovely characters. Which brings me to my next point:_

_I am not Stephanie Meyer, so obviously it's not going to be possible for me to remain completely in character, but I try as hard as I can. If you think Edward is acting extremely OOC, I beg to differ, read what Stephanie has written of Midnight Sun so far. There are so many things Edward wanted to say to Bella, but kept to himself, in this story he isn't so reserved because he doesn't have to worry about Bella being in danger or finding out what he is or any of the things that Edward was cautious about in Twilight. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer – I praise Stephanie Meyer for giving us Twilight, because unfortunately I couldn't write something so amazing**

_Author's note: I know it's been a little bit since my last update, and I'm sorry, but the good news is, I created a plot for this story! And it's full of intense, dramatic situations and soon we're going to learn ALL about Bella's past. Hooray! I'm super excited to get the ball rolling and hopefully I will be popping out chapters left and right._

**xxx**

"_What was the vision of?" _

"_This," he whispered, pulling me by my waist and neck into a passionate kiss._

**xxx**

Chapter Four

As Edward pulled me into the kiss, a pleasant burning sensation filled the pit of my stomach. Our lips began to mold new, unspoken promises and we both knew that this was a new start for the both of us.

There was no kiss like this in the history of the world. No work of Shakespeare could capture as much passion as our lips did when they worked together as one.

Even though I was indestructible, Edward held my face lightly, as if he was afraid he would break me. I could easily kiss Edward for the rest of eternity. In fact, I felt like I would fall apart if I didn't have a hold on him for the length of my existence. I wanted nothing more than to be with Edward forever, I wanted to share everything with him.

I felt a new type of clarity while kissing him, as if an invisible force was lifted off of me, freeing me to new experiences. I wanted Edward Cullen to love me like I loved him.

Edward gasped and broke apart our lips. I was hurt, and the haze clouded me again.

"What did you just say?" Edward asked, stunned.

"Nothing…my mouth was a little too busy for me to actually say anything." The hurt flooded my voice, but I was sure the expression on my face was a complicated mixture of confusion.

"That's what I thought," The confusion in Edward's eyes intensified until a little realization broke through when he reached the last word, "Bella, when we were kissing, what were you thinking about?"

I bit my lip, embarrassed, I thought Edward couldn't read my thoughts, "Nothing," I whispered.

"Bella," His eyes burned, "I love you so much more than you could ever dream of loving me."

My breath caught against a lump in my throat, "I thought you couldn't hear my thoughts."

"I couldn't. I still can't. I only could for that one instance," His eyes were a million miles away when he spoke, "I wonder why that was."

"I might have an idea. When I was living in Denali, Kate was trying to teach me how to expand my shield onto other people. I never really got that hang of it though. When we were kissing, and when I was thinking that, I felt a sort of release. Maybe all the walls that were there to keep you out dissolved in that one moment. I wanted to share everything with you. Maybe subconsciously I found a way that I could."

"Hmm, that's an interesting theory," Edward was still deep in thought, "I will have to make it a point to as Carlisle as some point."

I looked up at the sun for the first time in a while and moaned. It had moved considerably since we first entered the meadow, "I've missed Gym," I said, a little disappointed. It wasn't good for me to already be missing so many classes.

Edward shrugged and lay down in the grass, "I missed Spanish," He grabbed my hand, "Like I said, Alice saw this, and everyone was in on it. Carlisle already excused us."

I relaxed a little bit with my hand in Edward's.

After I didn't say anything for a while, Edward started again, "So what did you and Irina fight about anyways?" He asked, playing with my fingers.

I shrugged, "It was basically nothing. I didn't really approve of Tanya and Irina's escapades with human males. When they stepped up their game after Kate found Garrett, and expected me to replace Kate, I basically snapped. Tanya understood, but Irina didn't see what my problem was. When she told me that I could accept their lifestyle or leave, I left. Kate, Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar tried to convince me to stay, they all told me that Irina was selfish and stepped over some boundaries, and that I was welcome, whatever my opinions were, but I wanted to come here, and meet you and your family, so I told them that I had to leave, and that maybe I would be back."

"I could understand why you would leave, even if you hadn't been interested in meeting me. I've never really been understanding of the way the Denali girls took care of their business, but either way, I'm glad you're here." He kissed my temple and placed his head next to mine. We stayed like that for hours.

**xxx**

Alice bubbled as Edward and I walked in the front door, hand in hand, "It took you guys long enough!" She basically yelled in my ear.

"Alice, I've barely been here a week! Most normal people would consider this pretty fast."

"Yeah, well you and Edward are meant to be. I would know, _I've seen it,_" She stated, matter-of-factly, "Anyways, Bella, how would you like to go on a shopping trip with me tomorrow?"

I groaned, "Aliiiiice, I hate shopping."

"But Bella! Your wardrobe is _really_ scarce. Besides, I want to get to know you better," Her voice was thick with implications, and Edward's eyebrows ruffled in confusion.

"Alice, what are you keeping from me?" He asked her, his voice gruff.

"Be patient Edward!" She scolded, "So, what do you say Bella?"

"Fine," I said with a glare. And her face broke out into a smile.

**xxx**

_It was short, I'm sorry. But I really wanted to get this up before I get to pretty much the most important part of this story. Want a preview? Cause I wanna give you one._

**xxx**

A look of recognition came across the human boy's face, "Bella?" He whispered, in awe. I stopped breathing. He knew my name. But I didn't recognize him, so surely he couldn't know me.

"I-I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else," Alice stood off to the side, her expression blank.

"Wanna bet?" He muttered, his eyes full of pain. My stomach twisted into a knot, I had heard those words many times before. A wave of memories flooded me, and I began to drown in them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Twilight = not mine.**

_Author's note: That last chapter was so bad, I'm so sorry. And I think I gave away too much with that preview…my bad! But on with the most important and longest chapter yet! _

**xxx**

"_Fine," I said with a glare. And her face broke out into a smile._

**xxx**

Alice and I headed for Seattle early the next morning to get some shopping in. It was Saturday and Alice knew that homework would not be a long event, so I had no real excuse to not come shopping with Alice aside from the fact that shopping was not something I enjoyed. No matter how many times I used that excuse, Alice kept coming up with more reasons that I should go. In the end, she won, and she knew she would the whole time.

The drive wasn't as long as it _should_ have been, but it was still long enough that I felt restless in the car, "Alice, I still don't understand why we couldn't have just run to Seattle," I whined after an hour.

She looked at me like I was an idiot, "Bella, unless you wanted to carry all the bags home, this is easiest."

"Oh," I murmured.

We pulled into the parking lot shortly after nine in the morning, the sky overcast as usual. The city was flooded with humans and my throat cried out in more pain than usual, the venom sliding down my esophagus, but I easily pushed the thirst to the back of my mind, I was going to try to have as much fun as I possibly could today.

Alice dragged me into the first store pulling everything should get her hands on off of the rack. She pushed me into a dressing room and handed me a pile of clothes, "You need to try these on and pick out what you like. I would normally just tell you what you were going to get, but I have something I'm concentrating very hard on. I can't watch that and see what I'm going to get and what you will get at the same time, it will give me a headache," she said, before she shut the door and went off to find her clothes.

I looked at the pile and grimaced, it looked like Alice had grabbed half the store. I started from the top, silently thanking any higher being that was listening for giving vampires super speed. I finished through the pile quickly, not even bothering to put on some of the more revealing clothes Alice had grabbed for me.

Alice stood waiting for me outside of the dressing room, her arms draped in the pickings of her own, "Bella, hurry, we're on a very tight schedule."

I looked at her in confusion, "What kind of schedule, we have nothing planned."

"We're meeting someone soon. We can't be late, it's a very tight timeline," She looked at me as though the answer was obvious, and I was just stupid.

"What do you mean 'We're meeting someone soon'?" I asked, looking at her expression closely. Nothing changed in her eyes, and she didn't say anything. "Is this what you were keeping from Edward?"

"Bella, just hurry up, you'll figure everything out soon enough," Alice lead me to the checkout counter pulling out a credit card and putting on a big smile when she handed the sales woman our clothes.

I gave the woman a sympathetic look; I was embarrassed to be buying so much.

As we walked out of the store, Alice pulled me off to the right and stood next to a trash can where she could get a good glimpse of the large clock in the middle of the mall, "Three, two, one," She mouthed the words, but I could still hear them.

As soon as she said one, a boy bumped into me, dropping two of his bags, "I'm so sorry!" We both said at the same time, hurrying to pick up the spilt merchandise.

The boy's green eyes studied my face carefully, as if he was looking for something. I examined him back, taking in his chiseled features, his black hair and olive skin. My heightened senses could pick out all his imperfections, but for a human, he was still fairly attractive.

A look of recognition came across the human boy's face, "Bella?" He whispered, in awe. I stopped breathing. He knew my name. But I didn't recognize him, so surely he couldn't know me.

"I-I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else," Alice stood off to the side, her expression blank.

"Wanna bet?" He muttered, his eyes full of pain. My stomach twisted into a knot, I had heard those words many times before. A wave of memories flooded me, and I began to drown in them.

**xxx**

"_Bella, really, I think you should go with us to the movies," The petite redhead whined, "It will be so much fun."_

"_Lily, I really think you should just go and have fun with Riley. I don't want to intrude and be the third wheel."_

"_Please Bella, for me?" She looked at me with pouted lips, and wide brown eyes. _

_I groaned, the puppy eyes always worked, and she knew it, "Fine. I will go, but only if you pay for my popcorn."_

_Lily jumped up and down excitedly and squealed, "Deal! So, Riley has a friend that we think you'd be interested in meeting. His name is Max, he's really cute,"_

"_Lily, no! That was not part of the deal," I complained, "I don't want to be set up with anyone."_

_Lily's face fell slightly, "Bella, it's just one blind date. If you don't like him, then you don't have to call him."_

"_Lily, I don't date. You know that," I said, my voice barely a whisper._

"_Bella, Dustin went to college a year ago. He never called you, emailed you, came to visit you. He's really not going to if he hasn't already. You can't just keep holding out for him. He's not coming back," Lily said angrily. Tears began to paint my eyelashes, threatening to spill over._

"_That really hurt Lily," I choked out, trying to contain the sobs. Dustin was just something we never spoke of, a taboo subject in all of our conversations._

"_Yeah, well Bella, the truth fucking hurts sometimes. You need to move on. Bella you're seventeen, you're too young to be this heartbroken. Bella, please, come to this movie. Meet Max. You don't have even have to say anything to him during the movie, just meet him, please. Riley really thinks you guys would hit it off."_

_I brushed the tears from my cheeks, "Fine. I will meet him."_

_I juggled my keys while sitting on the bench outside of the movie theater, staring absently at the stars when finally I saw Riley's car pull into the parking lot._

"_Hey Bells," Riley said with a genuine smile. I had always liked Riley, and was very happy for Lily when they had finally decided to make it official, they were the perfect couple._

"_Hey Riley!"_

"_Bella!" Lily called out as she ran towards me, "I'm glad you didn't flake out on us or anything."_

_It was then that I noticed him. His green eyes seemed like they were hundreds of years old instead of just seventeen or eighteen. He was handsome, and he had a nice smile, "You must be Bella," He said, extending his hand. "I've heard so much about you. I'm Max."_

_I grabbed his warm hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you Max." And it was nice to meet him, it really was._

_Throughout the entire movie and over the next three days we spent as much time getting to know each other as possible. I didn't think it would have been possible for me to like someone other than Dustin, but I soon learned differently, I was falling for Max faster than I would have thought possible._

_A few days later Max invited me out to dinner, and I accepted. There wasn't a dull moment the entire meal, it had been almost a week and we had yet to run out of things to talk about. He told me about his family, and I told him about mine. We dabbled a bit on past relationships, though I easily avoided talking about Dustin. We easily went over basic favorites and in a few days I felt like I knew everything there was to know about Max and vice versa, I had never been this open with someone before._

_The snow that had begun to fall when we pulled up to the restaurant now coated the ground disastrously. We stepped outside and I grimaced._

"_What's the matter?" Max asked, concerned._

"_Ice is not really a clumsy person's best friend," I said, pointing to the slick sidewalk._

"_Well then, I will make sure you don't fall," He said with a smile, grabbing my hand and walking very slowly with me back to his car._

_The drive back to my house was filled with even more chatter and the pit of my stomach began to fill with butterflies. As we pulled up to my house, he leaned in for a kiss. _

_But before our lips touched I pulled back, "Max, I haven't kissed anyone in over a year, so I'm kind of out of practice, not just kissing, but this whole dating thing in general. I'm sure I just ruined this moment, as well as future ones, and I'm sorry, I just thought I should apologize ahead of time if I'm a bad kisser."_

"_I doubt you're bad at anything," Max said with a sly smile._

"_Oh, you'd be surprised," I muttered, biting my lip._

"_Wanna bet?" He asked before pulling me into a kiss._

_**xxx**_

_I took a deep breath before I pulled open the door of Max's Honda Accord._

"_Hey Bella," Max said, his smile warm. My heart was beating a million miles per hour when I took my seat._

_Seven months and I had easily told Max anything and everything, but this was hard to get out, "Max, there's something I need to tell you." I said, my voice was barely a whisper._

_He started driving down the side street towards the woods, "Alright then, tell me."_

"_Pull over please," I said, my stomach protesting against the lunch I had eaten, "MAX! PULL OVER!" He complied, and I opened the door, throwing up anything I had in my stomach._

"_Bella, are you alright?" He asked, his voice flooded with concern._

_I shook my head, "No, Max, I'm not alright." I tried to continue, to say the words I needed to, but they wouldn't come out._

"_Bella, what is it?" He reached for my hand. I pulled mine away, and he got worried. "Bella," His voice grew to a whisper. "Please don't do this."_

"_Don't do what?" I asked, confused._

"_Please don't break up with me," Pain filled his eyes, and tears threatened to spill over._

"_No. Max, no! That's not what this is about, how could you even think that?" I took a deep breath. "Max, I-I'm pregnant."_

"_Oh."_

"_Oh?! That's all you can say? My life is over and all you can say is 'oh'," I was getting angry, I didn't know what I had expected from Max, but it was certainly more than an 'Oh'._

"_Bella, your life is not over."_

"_Wanna bet?" I said, using his personal catch phrase._

"_Bella, we can get through this. We can have this baby, or we could give it up for adoption, or you could get an abortion. Whatever road you decide to go down, I support you. I'm here for you. This is our baby, and I'm going to be here for you every step of the way."_

_Though this was more than an 'Oh' this was also not what I had expected. Even though I always knew Max was excessively understanding and supportive, I expected him to get angry, or upset, or something, "Max, I can't do any of those. I'm eighteen, I can't be a mother, but I can't carry a child for nine months and give it up for adoption. But I couldn't face getting an abortion," I pulled a small ultrasound picture out of my pocket. "Not after seeing a picture of her." _

"_Her?" He asked, his voice low. I nodded and handed him the picture, "Bella, how long have you known?" _

"_About a month and a half."_

"_A month and a half?! And you didn't tell me? You went to the doctor, you got an ultrasound, without me? Bells, this is not something for you to go through alone, and it's also not something to leave me out of, this is my baby too. I had the right to know." His voice was all wrong for the words he was saying, too calm. He should have been yelling them at me._

"_Max, I'm so sorry," I could taste the saline of a few tears that had made their way to the corner of my lips. I opened the car door and took off into the woods._

_I didn't know where I was going, or why, but I followed where my feet took me. I could hear Max calling my name in the distance but I ignored it and kept going. Every time I tripped over a log or just my own two feet, I picked myself back up and kept going. _

_I didn't know how long I had been running, or how far I had gone when I tripped and hit my head on a rock. I could feel the blood flowing from my head, and all I could do was hold onto my stomach, my daughter and wait for death to overcome me._

_Then the pain started._

**xxx**

I pulled out of the memories and looked Max in the eyes, "Bella, what happened to you? You're so different."

I looked to Alice, who had come out of her trance at some point while I was in mine, "I can't tell you," I said, biting my lip in shame.

He caressed my cheek with one of his hands, "Your skin, it's so cold. Bella, it's been years since that day. You have to give me something."

"Bella," Alice said, cutting in, "I think we should take him back with us. It will be okay, don't worry. I think he should be around everyone when you explain, especially Jasper."

I nodded, "Max, how would you like to meet Alice's family?"

"We're your family too now, Bella," She said, quiet enough that I knew only I would be able to hear.

Max nodded, "I would love to."

"Hi Max," Alice said, approaching him for a handshake, "I'm Alice. Bella's friend."

He shook her hand, looking between her and me, "It's nice to meet you Alice."

**xxx**

_So, what did you guys think? More Bella memories to come in the near future._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: This chapter is very short, but it's a start to get me back into the story, I realize I didn't write at all this summer, and I'm sorry. I don't even have a decent excuse, seeing as I didn't even travel anywhere. This chapter is just kind of a filler, but I wrote it in Philosophy while my teacher was having an argument about free will, and was talking about jumping out a window, and it was fairly distracting. But, I digress. Read the author's note at the end. Without further adieu, I give you Chapter Six:_

_**--------------------------------------**_

The drive home from Seattle seemed to take forever, even to me. The car was silent, the radio off and it was almost as if there was a big pink elephant in sitting next to Max in the backseat. I tried to lock myself in thoughts of Edward and the meadow, which was beginning to seem like a lifetime ago, but the memories of Max tangled into everything I thought about.

I watched Max in the side view mirror, wishing I could harness Edward's power and hear his thoughts. I couldn't begin to comprehend what he was thinking, thought it seemed like once upon a time, Max and I operated on the same frequency, finishing each other's sentences and holding silent conversations when things were too private to be said aloud. I watched now as he stared absently out the window at the passing Washington scenery, his eyebrows would furrow and un-furrow every few minutes and he would trace the trails of raindrops with his pinky. I continued to watch him do this until he noticed me watching him in the mirror. He gave me a sad smile, and pulled away from the window with a sigh, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the seat, remaining like that for the rest of the ride back to the Cullen house.

Alice also said nothing during the drive home, instead she drove uncharacteristically slow with two hands on the wheel, I wanted to ask how Edward would react, but I was too afraid to break the eerie silence that seemed to create a fog-like atmosphere inside the car.

After what seem like days, we entered Forks, and Alice began to pick up speed through the streets and towards the house I had begun to think of as my home in the short amount of time that I'd been here.

We pulled up to the magnificent house and Max let out a low whistle.

Alice turned around in her seat and beamed at him, "Nice, huh?"

"Nice is kind of an understatement," he muttered, nodding his head.

We walked in the front door and called everyone by name, "Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, can you come in here?"

Soon the family was in the living room at a speed slightly above human, but still below their full potential, they all glanced quizzically at Max. Edward had a somber, knowing expression but everyone else looked genuinely confused.

I took a deep breath and introduced everyone, "Guys, this is Max, he's an old friend of mine. Max, these are the Cullens - Carlisle and Esme, Emmett, Alice, and Edward, and the Hales - Rosalie and Jasper." I pointed out each individual as I announced their name and watched each individual reaction, intrigued by how the Cullens reacted with a human in this different environment. Rosalie looked downright angry, Emmett looked excited, Carlisle and Esme appeared as inviting as ever, Edward stayed silent, observant and thoughtful, his face a blank mask, and Jasper shifted as far from Max as was politely allowed. Max just took in the Cullens in awe.

Carlisle spoke first. "It's very nice to meet you, Max, I hope you will consider my home as your own and feel very welcome here."

"Thank you Mr. Cullen, I appreciate that very much."

"Please, call me Carlisle!" He insisted. Max just nodded his head.

"As much as enjoyed meeting you everyone, I was hoping that Bella could give me a few explanations. I hope you all don't mind."

"Not at all," Esme spoke up. "We will all leave to ensure your privacy."

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

_A/N: Not the best chapter, forgive me. I don't have a beta either, so I'm sure there are some mistakes (any takers, I'd rather have a reader be my beta than and look for one)._

_First off, I'm sorry this was so short. My weekend is really busy, but hopefully I'll have chapter seven up soon. I'll probably start working on it either tonight or tomorrow during classes._

_Next: I still have to put up the meadow chapter in Edward's POV, and I was wondering how many people would want to see this chapter in Max's POV._

_Also, I won't be doing anymore of Bella's human memories in this story simply because this is and EdwardxBella story! If I feel like writing anything that relates to that, I will put it in the Outtake portion of this story (which I will have up as soon as I do the meadow in EPOV). If you want a special BxM memory, let me know, and I'll write it for you._

_Bonus: A google brownie points to the person who can guess who Max is named after (hint: he does something damn cute with his tongue)._

_**Does anyone know where I can download MS Word?!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Max sat on the couch, quiet and thoughtful, his eyes were full of hesitance, as if he didn't know where to start. He opened his mouth several times, as if he was about to speak, but would abruptly close it with a sigh. I had no idea where to being, either. No one had written and instruction manual for situations like this. Again I wish I had Edward's power because I would just be able to answer any question that popped into Max's head.

I finally decided to take a seat instead of standing awkwardly, and Max managed to blurt out a question.

"What happened to our daughter?" He whispered.

I pondered whether I should tell him the truth, or a lie, like telling him I had a miscarriage. I decided that the truth would be the best since one like would probably cause many more, "When I became...like I am, my body was kind of...frozen in the state I was in. Meaning she was frozen as well." I had no idea how to explain the medical aspects of what happened, and I wished Carlisle was here.

"What...what happened? What are you? What have you been doing since that day?" Finally all the questions Max had were pouring out of his mouth.

"Should I just tell you what happened from the time you last saw me until today?" I asked.

He nodded, and so I started my story where all stories start, at the beginning.

"The last time you saw me, was the last time anyone saw me as a human, because it was the last time I was human. When I left your car, I ran off into the woods. I ran a few miles, tripping and picking myself up every few minutes, being clumsy Bella Swan like always. But eventually, I tripped and hit my head on a rock, I couldn't move, and I was so afraid I was going to die there, and I guess I kind of did. Soon after I lost consciousness, I felt the most unbelievable pain, it lasted for three says and those were the longest days I ever had to live through, and on the third day, my heart stopped.

"I woke up in a place that I didn't recognize and the back of my throat burned. I remember asking for water and hearing the most beautiful laugh ever. A girl who I quickly learned was named Tanya told me it wasn't water I was thirsty for, it was blood. She told me that I was a vampire now but that if I wanted to stay wither her and her family, I couldn't drink the blood of a human, I could only drink that of an animal. In a sense we're like...vegetarians.

"I lived with Tanya and her family, Kate and Irina, Carmen and Eleazar in Denali for almost five years. Tanya and her sisters are probably the reason that there are stories of the 'succubus' and for a few years, I even participated in their...acts, but eventually I just couldn't do it.

"One day a nomad by the name of Garrett came and stayed with us for a few months, and Kate quickly became smitten. I was expected to live up to what Kate had been, fulfill her duties, so to speak. There were the legends of 'The Three Cold Sisters' and when Kate fell in love with Garrett, there was an available position for a 'Cold Sister' but I didn't exactly want to continue having sex with humans. I told them how I felt, and suddenly, I felt as if everyone was ignoring me and that I wasn't accepted.

"Tanya had told me about the Cullens, the only other 'Vegetarian Vampire' coven, and I decided I would come and stay with them, at least for a little while. I only got here recently and I realized that they do things fairly differently than my Denali family. I've made a great friend in Alice. She's very much like Lily. Alice can see visions of the future, she saw you, and made sure that it would happen. I've found a partner in Edward. I guess that he's my boyfriend, or something like that. It's different for vampires. Edwards can read minds, so be careful of your thoughts around him. He can't read my mind though. I'm a kind of shield, apparently. Rosalie and I are...setting a pace. She's too vain to care about anyone except herself. Emmett is just...Emmett. He's kind of a big child. But he definitely keeps us entertained. Jasper is very kind. He kind of has this 'Southern gentleman' air about him. He can sense and affect the emotions of those around him so, just remember that you can't always trust your feelings if Jasper is in the room. Carlisle and Esme have quickly filled the parent roles. They are both very compassionate and they took me in graciously and have made me feel right at home. And I'm very thankful for that, they are more of a family to me than the clan in Denali was, with the exception of Carmen." I ran out of things to say quickly and silence filled the room for a short amount of time before Max started asking questions.

"Did you ever think about coming back?"

"It never crossed my mind, because I couldn't remember anything about my human life until you came along. I didn't have anything I wanted to hold onto from my human life, because, in a sense, I had lost my baby. If I had remembered you from the beginning of my new life, I might have come back to visit or check on you or Charlie and Renee or Lily and Riley."

He took a deep breath, "What would we have done? If none of this had happened, what would we have done with our lives?"

"I don't know. I would have kept her. Raised her the best I could, whether you were with me or not, I guess."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I would have been there for you every step of the way. Before and after the birth. I would have supported you through everything. I was truly in love with you."

"I was in love with you too. And if things had turned out differently I think we could have been truly happy and had a nice family with a beautiful baby girl. But now that isn't possible and now I'm with Edward. I'm sorry that things couldn't have worked out where we ended up together." I held back dry sobs, wondering if it would be easier to cry.

Max began to tear up, but didn't let himself cry, "It wasn't your choice, I can't blame you for what happened." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What have you been doing since I left? What is everyone else doing now?"

"Well, Lily and Riley went to NYU together, graduated, got married and moved to New Jersey and now have two beautiful baby boys. They send me Christmas cards every year and sometimes Lily will call me and tell me about the boys. A few months ago they got a St. Bernard. Charlie and Renee got divorced about a year after your disappearance and about two years ago, Renee married a baseball player, named Phil. They live in Jacksonville. Charlie moved to Phoenix. As for me, my parents got in a car crash about three years ago and I've been living with my sister, Stephanie, in Seattle ever since. Since then, I mostly thought about you. I wondered where you were, if our baby had my eyes or your blush. Sometimes I'd imagine going places with the both of you on family events. I'd imagine we were a happy family." Max wiped away the silent tears that had trailed down his cheeks.

I sat down next to him and put my hand on his back, delicately massaging circles and consoling him, "I'm so sorry, Max. I wish I could give you that experience," I whispered, suddenly filled with more remorse than I could ever remember feeling. We sat quietly for an hour, letting the silence fill the house until finally the Cullens returned. I was eternally grateful for Jasper at that moment, the second he walked into the house, the mood was lighter and I no longer felt the guilt that had been tearing me apart from the inside.

Edward gave me a small, pained smile when we made eye contact. "Bella, can we talk?" He said, quietly.

I nodded and began to head up the stairs without a word.

_Author's note: Sorry it took so long, I've had this written in my notebook for more than a week, but school is so hectic that I haven't been able to get it up until now._

_On another note, I'm going to be starting a new story tonight, called _Dream-catcher _it's going to be my first all human story, so the first chapter to that should be up tonight or tomorrow. And hopefully another chapter for _A New Dawn_ will be up Sunday or early next week (I have Homecoming this weekend). I don't plan on stopping _A New Dawn_ but now that I know where this story is headed, it's hard to try keeping it paced, because nothing exciting happens until the chapter after the next._

_Anyways, here's a summary for _Dream-catcher_, enjoy! :_

Bella suffers from severe insomnia, but when she does sleep, she dreams of the same green-eyed, bronze-haired Adonis. When Bella's lack of sleep starts to affect her life negatively, she seeks medication, but the more she sleeps, the less she dreams about _Him_. But, what will happen when she learns he might not just be a figment of her unconscious?

_If anyone is interested in co-authoring _Dream-catcher_, let me know in a PM (: ._


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